Metro predicts that it will not be able to begin passenger service on the next phase of the Silver Line, as originally planned. Metro is set to release a report detailing why the project is not ready. WAMU breaks down eight issues which will need to be addressed. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

Since July, Maryland has not paid nearly $42 million in capital funding to Metro, arguing that the state had deep concerns regarding Metro’s governance and accountability. This week, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan authorized payment of the funds. (Max Smith / WTOP)

Data from HotPads, the rental-focused section of real estate company Zillow Group, reported that almost a third of the searches for DC area rentals on its platform came from outside the area. It’s an increase of over 30% percent last year, according to HotPads. (Andrew Giambrone / CurbedDC)

Residents in Falls Church and Vienna argue that new development proposals for Fairview Park include too many housing units and not enough pedestrian and bike options, which will worsen traffic. Developers and planners argue that the new housing will help address the region’s shortage. (Catherine Moran / Tyson Reporter)

The Washington Post is shutting down, Express, its free commuter paper after 16 years. The Post cited a decline in circulation, the preference to consume content digitally, and a drop in Metro ridership as reasons for the shutdown. (Rachel Kurzius / DCist)

Virginia will increase the number of rail tracks between DC and Richmond. Under the DC2RVA high-speed rail project, a third track would be added between DC and Richmond and a fourth track would be added from Alexandria to Long Bridge. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

A final report on the 20th/21st/22nd St. NW protected bike lane project was released by the District Department of Transportation. The recommended alternative would install protected bike lanes along 20th St. from Connecticut Ave. to F St., have a one-block connection along F and G Streets, then continue on 21st St. south to Constitution Ave. (District of Columbia Department of Transportation)

A bridge cleaning project between MacAruther Blvd and the American Legion Bridge, a resurfacing project in Chevy Chase, a water line replacement by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), between the Capital Beltway and Georgia Ave, are some of the road projects keeping lanes closed in Montgomery County and delaying commuters. (Kate Masters / Bethesda Beat)

A new bill may require that landlords in Montgomery County provide and maintain air conditioning to renters. While current requirements state that if there is an air condition unit, it must be in working order, the recommendations in the proposed bill will address many unanswered questions. (Melissa Howell / WTOP)

Officials in the DC region, as part of a regional initiative, have agreed to establish housing production goals over the next decade to help address housing affordability in the area. Under this agreement, each locality will produce a total of 320,000 new homes. (Alex Koma / Washington Business Journal)

Sun visors inside an operator cab were used to intentionally block internal cameras, the Metrorail Safety Commission found after reviewing footage of a collision on a storage track. The commission is requiring Metro to draw up a visor policy, and will also ask for better communication and tracking of problems with rail conditions. (Max Smith / WTOP)

Nine development projects are in the works for the neighborhood around Amazon HQ2 and will bring over 5,000 units of residential housing to the area, in addition to commercial and retail space, office space, a hotel, a woonerf and a new Metro entrance. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)

The county board questioned a Fairfax DOT representative over safety measures on the Silver Line Phase II, especially over ongoing problems with concrete in the construction which has plagued the project for months. (Catherine Douglas Moran / Reston Now)

Cricket Solar pulled its project for a 380,000 solar panel installation in Culpeper County after a year of arguing with neighbors who wanted to preserve historic Civil War landmarks and nearby wetlands. Cricket says the growing cost, not the local opposition ultimately killed the project. (Hannah Natanson / Post)

Independent challengers for board seats Audrey Clement and Arron O’Dell criticized tax breaks for Amazon over small businesses. Incumbent Democrats Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol defended the subsidies as drivers of prosperity, and argued against using historic preservation as a tool to block development and in favor of ADUs. (Vernon Miles / ARL Now)

The DC Attorney General put out a report saying that construction companies save 16% by illegally misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees, meaning that they don’t pay overtime or benefits to their workers. (Ally Schweitzer / WAMU)

The Ethics Commission is reviewing a business partnership between a budget software program Balancing Act and Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Kleine. The county began to use Balancing Act shortly after Kleine took office, but the company says that they no longer had any business relationship with him. (Dan Schere / Bethesda Beat)

Republicans Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows asked the House Oversight Committee to interview Evans and Metro Board staff over the ethics investigation into Evans that he and former board member Corbett Price may have tried to cover up. (Robert McCartney / Post)

In what one Chevy Chase Village board member called “the most contentious and emotionally charged issue” in the community’s history, the village board voted 5 to 2 to disestablish the fenced dog park that has divided the affluent Maryland suburb turn it into a park where dogs must be leashed. (Jessica Contrera / Post)

Maryland State Police are investigating the death of James Lewis Jr., 42, whose body was found after 4:20 a.m. lying in the roadway on Central Avenue at Mills Pond Drive in the Largo area, after apparently being hit by a driver. (Martin Weil / Post)

This month, the District Department of Transportation announced it will publically kick-off design work aimed at extending service on the 2.2-mile DC Streetcar across the Anacostia River to the Benning Road Metro station, effectively doubling the length of the line. (Andrew Giambrone / Curbed)

Three years after the DC Council required the release of all uses of force and stops, the Metropolitan Police Department urged additional analysis on data for 11,600 police stops between July 22 and Aug. 18 of this year that shows 70% of the people stopped were black while 15% were white. (Amanda Michelle Gomez / WCP)

In the first of many markers to be installed across the state, Maryland and Anne Arundel County officials unveiled the state’s first lynching memorial to honor the more than 40 black men who were victims of racial terror lynching in the state between 1854 and 1933. (Dominique Maria Bonessi / WAMU)

For the 17,000 Metro commuters whose regular routes were disrupted or derailed for much of the summer because of the $200 million Blue and Yellow line station improvement project, the reopened stations were met with approval, from the new LED lighting down to the USB ports available in every shelter. (Hannah Natanson / Post)

This week, the Metro Board is set to approve a fourth consecutive one-year extension of the Washington regions’ capital funding agreement that will include amendments adding flexibility and transparency for changes to capital plans and allowing Metro to issue bonds backed by new dedicated funding. (Max Smith / WTOP)

]]>Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:34:00 +0000Tom Neeley (Contributor)Breakfast links: The Blue and Yellow Line stations reopen, but the wait for the right font continueshttps://ggwash.org/view/73808/breakfast-links-september-9-2019-blue-yellow-line-stations-reopen
https://ggwash.org/view/73808/breakfast-links-september-9-2019-blue-yellow-line-stations-reopen

The six Blue and Yellow Line stations that reopened today still have signs with the wrong font, for now. Metro says the contractor behind the signs with replace them with new ones later this fall. (Rachel Sadon / DCist)

Mayor Muriel Bowser recently required certain District government agencies to prioritize locations east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8 for new leases. Bowser hopes the presence of government workers could help revitalize these neighborhoods, similar to what the Reeves Center did for U Street. (Martin Austermuhle / WAMU)

After nearly 80 years in business, the Hall Brothers Funeral Home in Shaw will close down. The funeral home went from hosting over 100 funerals a year to just four in 2018 as the neighborhood has changed and its African-American clientele has left. (Paul Schwartzman / Post)

Montgomery County officials say they didn’t receive invitations to an event last week to mark the installation of the first tracks for the Purple Line. They say it fits a pattern of the state not keeping them informed of the light rail line’s construction. (Kate Masters / Bethesda Beat)

A ceremony on September 12 will mark the end of repairs to two locks on the C&O Canal in Georgetown. Repairs on additional locks with continue through next year, and according to the Georgetown Business Improvement District, the canal boat will return in 2020. (Andrew Giambrone / Curbed DC)

Dominion Energy is hoping to partner with Virginia school districts to put up to 1,000 electric school buses on the road by 2025. The buses would help serve the electrical grid, where 1,000 buses could power up to 10,000 homes. (Hannah Natanson / Post)

Construction was started on a new senior living community in Rockville. The facility, located at the corner of West Gude Drive and Route 355, will include 116 assisted living and 30 memory care apartments. The project is expected to be completed by 2022. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Magazine)

There is still time to plant something this year. This list of 31 community gardens in DC, most administered by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, makes it easy for you to find one in your area. (Andrew Giambrone / CurbedDC)

Could Germany pass rent control nation-wide? Safe street advocates are upset at New York Mayor Bill for floating helmets and license requirements for bicyclists. “Soft cities” aim to be the answer to the urban grind.

There’s a proposal for Germany-wide rent control: Berlin’s urban development minister recently proposed capping monthly rates at just under eight euros per square meter (82 cents per square foot), depending on when the building was built. Sahra Wagenknect, leader of the Left Party, wants to take the proposal further and implement the scheme nationally, citing increasing rents and the displacement of urban residents. (Deutsche Welle)

De Blasio shows his “car guy” colors: Mayor Bill de Blasio upset safe streets advocates when he publicly mulled whether to mandate helmets and license requirements for New York City bicyclists. The proposal comes in the midst of a spike in cyclist deaths, and many advocates question the mayor’s commitment to reduce street fatalities. (Dana Rubinsteain and Erin Durkin | Politico)

Why you’d want to live in a “soft city”: A soft city is one that supports relationships between people and the places around them by breaking down traditional silos. The term comes from notion of the “grind” and “harshness” typically applied to urban life. In his new book “Soft City,” David Sim proposes ways to remedy the strict organization of human activity in modern cities. (Eillie Anzilloti | Fast Company)

A Twitter thread on African architecture goes viral: “Igbo Excellence,” a Twitter account that highlighted examples of beautiful African architecture, became a hit, refuting the notion that great architectural beauty is an invention relegated to Western and Asian cultures. (James Caunt and Mindaugas Balčiauskas | BoredPanda)

Where code meets concrete: Cities worldwide are deploying new, networked urban tech, but there is friction between the digital world and the physical infrastructure. This tech must be better tied to the physical environment in which they operate. (Shannon Mattern | Urban Omnibus)

Norway’s $47B coastal highway: Norway’s 1,100-kilometer Highway E39 runs along the west coast, connecting Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in the north. Currently, it takes 21 hours to drive the highway due to seven ferry crossings which pass cars over Norway’s dramatic fjords. Norway plans to expand the highway and remove the ferries in hopes of reducing travel times. (Brandon Donnelly)

Quote of the Week

“It was always a ‘wouldn’t it be great’ project, but now it’s a ‘look what we’re actually doing’ project. Only now are we beginning to fulfill that promise.”

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg in Curbed talking about the potential of the 244-acre railyards project just outside of downtown.

This week on the podcast, Camron Gorguinpour, global senior manager for electric vehicles at WRI’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, joins us to talk about the potential of electric bus implementation.

Nationwide, winnowing transit options have had a negative impact on 17% of the workforce in metro areas, according to a report by the American Public Transit Association. Those who particularly work between the hours of 4 pm and 6 am have been hit the hardest, including in DC. (Martin Austermuhle / WAMU)

A new report from the Washington Area Bus Transformation Project concludes that the DC region needs more buses and bus lanes to alleviate traffic and provide cheaper transit options for commuters. (Katherine Shaver / Post)

With over 8,000 public housing units spread out across the District, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) is one of the city’s biggest landlords, and much of its housing needs repairs. The agency has a 20-year plan to repair 2,610 units. (Andrew Giambrone / CurbedDC)

A microtransit program in Minneapolis-St. Paul may provide a model for DC workers who struggle to get to work due to few late night transit options. Workers and their employers pay into a program which picks late night workers up from their homes and delivers them to their jobs. (Keri Murakami / Post)

DC announced Thursday that it will move ahead with demolishing RFK stadium by 2021. Though what will replace the stadium remains uncertain, there are plans for recreational areas, and city officials appear to have ruled out building another stadium for the Washington football team. (Robert McCartney / Post)

Salaries, when adjusted for cost of living and housing costs, are effectively higher in small metro areas than in large cities, a new analysis finds. This holds true across industries, except in tech, where salaries are actually more competitive in large metro areas. DC ranked second-highest in adjusted tech salary. (Richard Florida / City Lab)

The Highline at Union Market has a new tenant: “co-living” company QUARTERS. The company will rent 99 units and convert them into two-, three- and four-bedroom co-living spaces with a total of 239 beds. (Nena Perry-Brown / UrbanTurf)

Anthony Burley from Columbia Heights and George Whitlow, a Petworth resident, have become known around the District for playing jams, one from their house, the other on a bicycle, and spreading the joy of spontaneous music. (Leigh Giangreco / DCist)

During the week of the United Nation’s Climate Action Summit in September, several organizations and advocates have planned protests and other actions in downtown DC to demand urgent action to address the climate crisis. (Andrew Giambrone / CurbedDC)

County building officials are investigating why glass panels on newer buildings are shattering and falling. Officials want to determine if there is any connection between glass falling from three buildings over the past two years. All three buildings were built since 2014. (Katherine Shaver / Post)

After four years, Metro has fixed the chiller system for Farragut North and Dupont Circle Metro stations, and aims to fix 13 more. In the past, Metro tried less expensive and disruptive options to fix chiller systems that did not work. (Post)

On Wednesday a water main break on Woodmont Avenue resulted in some businesses closing temporarily and a Metro Bus becoming trapped in a small sinkhole. As of now, it is unclear what caused the break. (Bethesda Beat)

Al Roshdieh will leave his job as Montgomery County’s Transportation Director after serving in that position since 2014. He is the latest senior official who served under former County Executive Ike Leggett to leave since Marc Elrich took office. (Dan Schere / Bethesda Beat)

A recently released study by the Urban Institute warned that about 220,000 people throughout the Washington region could be displaced because of mounting housing costs. The report also stated that about 374,000 new homes were needed by 2030. (Alex Koma / WBJ)

All highway signs that reference Jefferson Davis will be removed in Arlington County starting this week. New signs reflecting the name change to Richmond Highway will be placed beginning on Thursday. (Max Smith / WTOP)

Arlington County Board members who are up for reelection highlighted the positive benefits of density and transit-oriented development in the county against critical opponents in the 2019 race. (Vernon Miles / ARLnow)

Top image: People in Georgia head to DC for the 2017 People's Climate March. Image by Georgia Sierra Club licensed under Creative Commons.

A report from the Urban Institute says that in order to house residents at all income levels, the Washington region will need to add 374,000 new housing units by 2030, and 141,000 of those need to cost $1,300 or less a month. (Robert McCartney / Post)

A report from DC’s Office of Planning says the city may revisit regulations on short term rentals in order to let residents rent out two units. The short term rental laws set to go into effect October 1 will limit residents to renting out one unit only. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)

Six Blue and Yellow line stations will reopen Monday after being closed all summer. The closures drove low ridership numbers in Virginia, with 16% fewer people on Metro rail in June and 10% fewer in July compared to 2018, though Metro says bus ridership increased. (Max Smith / WTOP)

A group of Kensington residents appealed the county’s approval of a six-story, 94-unit senior living center in Montgomery County circuit court. The group wants the county to change the design of the building to address their concerns about parking and traffic on the corner of Knowles Avenue and Connecticut Avenue. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)

Monica Goldson became the permanent CEO of the county school system this July. She wants to expand full time pre-K programs in the county, improve special education services, and use some extra money from the state to give raises to teachers. (Kavitha Cardoza / WAMU)

The county council often uses text amendments to approve new development to avoid the long process of a zoning-map amendment. After the now-abandoned attempt to put an Amazon fulfillment center in Westphalia, residents are pushing back, saying that text amendments also cut out public notification and input on zoning changes. (Rachel Chason / Post)

The tour bus driver who hit and killed a pair of women crossing the street in December 2018 pled guilty to negligent homicide in court. He answered his phone while making an illegal left turn onto Pennsylvania Avenue, killing two women in the crosswalk. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)

Takoma/Takoma Park, which straddles the DC-Maryland border, was the first true Washington suburb, founded in 1883 by a teetotaling developer. The neighborhood has a rich history, from its early days as a dry town to the 1960s when the residents successfully fought off a proposed highway expansion. (Danya AbdelHameid / DCist)

Without a trauma center east of the Anacostia River, it takes an ambulance about 30 minutes in light traffic to transport an injured person to one of the four trauma centers clustered in Northwest Washington. (Amanda Michelle Gomez / City Paper)

Citing a medical procedure and a “personal family matter,” Corbett Price, DC’s last principal member to the Metro board, resigned August 30 following scrutiny over his role in the ethics committee investigation into then-WMATA board chair and DC Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

The annual summertime lull on Washington region roads ends today, with traffic expected to increase between now and the end of September as commuters end summer vacations and return to driving children to school. (Lori Aratani / Post)

Returning to school Tuesday are public school students from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, which are Maryland’s two largest school districts, along with students living in Virginia’s Arlington and Alexandria counties. DC public schools began their school year on August 26. (Max Smith / WTOP)

For the last 10 years, Maret School, a private school with an annual tuition of about $40,000, has been given exclusive after-school and Saturday use of a city-owned athletic field, which prevents a nearby Boys and Girls Club from using the field at the same time. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)

Less than four months after the city displaced residents experiencing homelessness from an underpass on L Street for a public art installation, the residents have returned, prompting the NoMa BID in an open letter on August 21 to ask the city again to intervene. Many people have weighed in on the subject since the letter was sent out. (Petula Dvorak / Post)

Although forecasters expect Hurricane Dorian to stay offshore, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency as the hurricane continues to move toward the East Coast and is expected to affect southeastern Virginia on Thursday. (Gina Cook / NBC4)

With an estimated 11 years left to greatly reduce global carbon emissions before catastrophic environmental effects, Gothenburg, Sweden an industrial port city of 600,000 residents has reimagined itself as the “most sustainable city in the world” and may be a model for others to follow. (Reif Larsen / GQ)

]]>Tue, 03 Sep 2019 13:19:00 +0000Tom Neeley (Contributor)National links: If the aviation industry were a country, it would be a top 10 polluterhttps://ggwash.org/view/73667/national-links-dealing-with-extreme-heat-and-calculating-aviation-emissions
https://ggwash.org/view/73667/national-links-dealing-with-extreme-heat-and-calculating-aviation-emissions

The aviation industry rivals entire countries in the number of carbon emitted. For centuries, the 30-minute commute has ruled urban life. Big cities face the threat of catastrophic heatwaves.

Staggering statistics of aviation emissions: If the aviation industry were a country, it would rank among the world’s top 10 emitters of carbon dioxide. Since 2005 alone, aviation emissions have risen 70% and are forecast to increase between 300% and 700% by 2050. Most air travelers are relatively wealthy. Only 18% of the world population has ever flown, and only 3% of the world flies in any given year. (John Grant & Keith Baker | Inverse)

Urban life throughout history was shaped by this principle: The underpinning of urban life has been summed up by a concept called theMarchetti Constant, which says that most people are willing to travel about 30 minutes from their homes each way. This idea is played out in cities across time and place, from Atlanta, Georgia, to ancient Rome. (Jonathan English | Citylab)

Can we survive extreme heat?: Since the 1960s, the number of heat waves in major American cities have tripled. While water crises, hurricanes, and other consequences of climate change cause social, political, and economic conflict, perhaps the most direct cause of death in climate crisis is exposure to extreme heat. Cities like Phoenix, Arizona could face catastrophic heat waves in the near future. (Jeff Goodell | Rolling Stone)

NYC cut $1.4 billion from its rail tunnel price tag: Rail planners claim they can reduce the $11.3 billion price tag of the Gateway Project rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey by $1.4 billion. The project would rely on $10 billion in US grants and loans from the Federal Transit Administration and a $1.3 billion contribution from Amtrak. Planners anticipate breaking ground in 2021 if key federal approvals are awarded. (Elise Young | Bloomberg)

There’s a surge of investors buying starter homes: Last year, investors purchased one-fifth of all single-family starter homes on the market, double the number they bought 20 years ago. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, investors own and rent about 18.2 million one-unit homes which house 42% of the nation’s 43 million renter households. While there is a concern that investors take homeownership away from individuals and families, many investors that buy and sell homes in need of repair actually increase the housing supply. (Ellen Seidman & Sheryl Pardo | Urban Institute)

Quote of the Week

“But few know that Olmsted was also involved with the renovation of Union Square Park, two miles to the south. Smaller and more traditional in its design, this park was a democratic landscape in a different sense - a modern plaza for public meetings.”

Joanna Merwood-Salisbury in The Conversation discussing New York’s Union Square and how it has shaped free speech.

This week on the podcast, Andrew Owen of the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota joins us to chat about how to measure access as a metric.

Dominion Energy is bidding to make the next generation of Virginia school buses all-electric, which would mean cleaner air and a quieter ride. The batteries are able to re-plug into the electric grid. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

The DC Board of Elections may divide Precinct 83 into two. Currently, Precinct 83 includes large portions of NoMa, which has grown so much in the last decade that Precinct 83 is now the largest in the city. (Martin Austermuhle / DCist)

Georgetown University’s controversial plan to build a solar field in Maryland has officially been rejected. The project would have damaged the existing ecosystem and increased runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. (Rachel Chason / Post)

Three years after announcing a new plan to close DC General Hospital and replace it with six smaller homeless shelters across the city, the DC government’s plan isn’t done yet. With four out of six shelters open, the city has made progress, but is behind its timeline. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)

Solomon Zelelew, a 39-year-old man from Alexandria City, died this week from injuries from a crash that occurred August 15. Zelelew was struck while walking on a sidewalk near Columbia Pike and Carlin Springs Road by a driver who swerved to avoid another vehicle, according to Mason Police. (Fairfax County Police Department)

It may have started with complaints about dogs barking, but the underlying tension surrounding a dog park in an affluent neighborhood in Chevy Chase is turning into a battle of class and residency. (Jessica Contrera / Post)

Last month Greek company Intralot received a $215 million contract to bring sports gambling to DC and administer the lottery. But Veterans Services Corp., the local firm it hired to handle day-to-day operations in DC, doesn’t have any employees, according to city records. (Steve Thompson / Post)

Commuter Connections launched a new app called incenTrip that rewards users with cash for taking transportation modes that reduce congestion and improve air quality. Individuals can potentially earn up to $600 a year. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

The owners of Capitol Hill Books tweeted a sarcastic comment about Trump voters, and it went viral. But this isn’t the first time local bookstores have been at the center of a political firestorm. (Elliot C. Williams / DCist)

DDOT has installed new interim safety improvements for cyclists on Flordia Avenue NE from 3rd Street NE to West Virginia Avenue NE. The safety improvements come after fatal crashes claimed the lives of bike safety advocate David Salovesh earlier this year and a pedestrian Ruby Whitfield in 2013. (Neal Augenstein / WTOP)

A malfunctioning Metro bus in Arlington was sent to be serviced after a driver reported feeling ill on her route last week. The Metro workers union says that the garage released the bus without finishing the repairs, causing another driver to report feeling sick. (Airey / ARLnow)

A fire in a crowded DC rowhouse recently killed two residents. An MPD officer had recently visited the house over a landlord-tenant dispute and told DCRA and the fire department about the illegal living conditions and fire code violations they saw. Inspectors either failed to follow up, or could not enter. (Peter Jamison / Post)

After crowdsourcing over 14,000 receipts from Uber and Lyft drivers, Jalopnik reported that the companies take 30-38% of fares, which is more than the companies have publicly reported. Despite being classed as independent contractors, drivers have no say in setting rates or surge pricing, or in determining how much money the companies will take. (Jalopnik)

The former chair and former treasurer of ANC 8C wrote over $15,000 in checks for fraudulent or unathorized expenses in 2017 and 2018, according to a report from the DC Auditor’s office. (Mitch Ryals / City Paper)

A helipad that serves police and hospital helicopters may relocate from its current site along the Anacostia River in Ward 6. Residents and Councilmember Charles Allen spoke out against putting the new pad next to the future 11th Street Bridge Park. (Danya AbdelHameid / DCist)

Development opponents reported unlicensed demolition at the McMillan sand filtration site after spotting trucks and construction workers, but the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s office says that the activty is part of approved testing on the site. The McMillan development is still facing a possible appeals challenge in court. (Alex Koma / WBJ)

The state studied possible new Chesapeake Bay crossings and dismissed bus and ferry options. A new bridge could cost up to $5 billion, and an Anne Arundel County Executive pointed out that adding more lanes will not reduce congestion during high-demand times. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

“Save Historic Alexandria” stickers bearing the logo of the Alexandria Historic Foundation can be seen on dockless scooters in area. Since the Foundation hasn’t returned calls from Washingtonian or GGWash reporters, they raise more questions than answers. (Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian)

In 2015, the Trust for Public Land named DC the city with the most community gardens per capita. City Paper and the Avatist explore the day-to-day drama of community gardens, and who reaps the benefits of the labor. (Laura Hayes / City Paper)

A recent article in the Washingtonian about a new ice cream shop Here’s the Scoop, in Columbia Heights, has sparked conversations on placemaking, wayfinding, and how we view neighborhoods. (Hayden Higgins / 730DC)

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office is expected to release findings from an ongoing survey about where more affordable housing should be built at a community meeting next month. It’ll be held at Ron Brown High School, near the Deanwood Metro station. (Andrew Giambrone / CurbedDC)

This summer when Wheelhouse in Federal Hill opened its doors to renters, it gave them new bikes along with a lease. The developers, 28 Walker, hope to encourage carless living in Baltimore. (Meredith Cohn / Baltimore Sun)

As the temperatures rise across the globe, some scientists are fearful that the heat will make it difficult for solar panels to operate efficiently. One way to address the problem? Install solar panels over crops. (Linda Poon / CityLab)

Mayor Muriel Bowser has been appealing to the public via Twitter to keep the DC Circulator free. The DC Council recently has moved to reinstate fares due over concerns that free rides mostly benefit the wealthier residents that live along the Circulator’s routes. (Luz Lazo / Post)

A spike in shooting incidents near schools has prompted the District to launch the Safe Spots initiative, which will allow participating businesses and organizations to shelter students who feel unsafe. The District is also expanding the Safe Passage program, which helps students commute safely. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)

Electric scooter operator Spin is adding docking stations for its previously dockless scooters to help recharge batteries and prevent users from leaving the scooters in less-than-convenient locations. Spin also hopes to make the docking stations solar-powered this fall. (Luz Lazo / Post)

When DC’s short-term rental law goes into effect on October 1, those who rent out housing on sites like Airbnb will be prohibited from renting out a principal dwelling for more than 90 days if they’re absent. Exceptions apply if a resident needs to leave the District to care for a sick relative. (Nena Perry-Brown / UrbanTurf)

Workers at a Metro bus garage in Lorton, Virginia just voted to authorize a strike. Metro contracted the garage out to a private company last year, and according to the Amalgamated Transit Union, these workers make $12 less per hour than others in the area. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

Voters in Phoenix will soon decide in a special election whether to continue investment in the region’s light rail system or shift focus to boosting auto infrastructure. Opponents are concerned with the high costs of rail transit construction. (Katherine Davis-Young / Post)

]]>Mon, 26 Aug 2019 13:20:00 +0000Matt Gontarchick (Contributor)National links: The late Nipsey Hussle understood cities, and the people who live in themhttps://ggwash.org/view/73573/national-links-understanding-why-nipsey-hussle-was-important-to-south-la
https://ggwash.org/view/73573/national-links-understanding-why-nipsey-hussle-was-important-to-south-la

Nipsey Hussle’s dream of racial and economic equity for his neighborhood spanned across music and media. Planners in Vancouver are widening sidewalks to accommodate more people in the densifying city. Transgender and nonbinary teens are vulnerable to homelessness.

Why we should all know Nipsey Hussle: On the intersection of Crenshaw and Slauson in South Los Angeles, the late Nipsey Hussle fought to claim place and space in a community rooted in decades of racist policies. Through multiple albums, nearly 50 singles, and a Grammy nomination, Hussle expressed the need for the community to claim what was theirs. Sahra Sulaiman breaks down Hussle’s legacy and his work to boost the morale of the black community in South LA. (Sahra Sulaiman | Streetsblog LA)

Vancouver makes more space for people walking: As the city becomes denser, Vancouver, British Columbia planners and engineers are responding to the increased number of people walking around by expanding its sidewalks. In some areas, that means taking pavement away from cars, but elsewhere it means pushing buildings back. The widenings have also been complemented with crosswalk and bike lane improvements. (Frances Bula | The Globe and Mail)

How trans teens experience homelessness: Even though transgender youth and non-binary teens make up a small percentage of people experiencing homelessness nationally, about a third of trans Americans will experience homelessness at some point in their lives, according to a 2015 study. They’re more likely to be unsheltered than any other population, and about half of the homeless trans population is in California.(Sarah Holder | Citylab)

Did Waze hijack Los Angeles?: When Waze launched in 2011, Los Angeles went wild, lauding the app for its aggressive approach to navigation and the godly convenience of its algorithms. Nowadays, however, Angelenos are finding their residential streets turned into makeshift highways. The chaos has triggered a debate on how tech companies’ navigation apps provide a false narrative of speed, and how data can send cars speeding through residential neighborhoods. (Jonathan Littman | Los Angeles Magazine)

Bringing back the land value tax: The land value tax emerged in the 19th century but hasn’t been used much until recently, when Millbourne, Pennsylvania used it to revive the area after it fell into hard times from the loss of a Sears. The tax is intended to encourage landowners to make more productive use of large properties. A former car dealership and a bowling alley, the second and third largest parcels in the city, are now under development. Now some cities are taking a second look at the tax. (J. Brian Charles | Governing)

Quote of the Week

“Finally, the bill perpetuates the false notion that highways are the most important transportation mode. In keeping with recent history, Congress has advanced a major highway bill before either of the Congressional committees dealing with rail and transit have even begun to act.”

Jenna Fortunati of Transportation for America discussing the worst parts of the current iteration of the next transportation bill.

This week on the podcast, Former Pasadena California Transportation Director Fred Dock comes on the show to talk about his career and the move from Level of Service (LOS) to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).

America’s cities are growing at different rates.When looking at population and job growth, some of the ones that are doing better (and the ones that are doing worse) may surprise you. (Richard Florida / CityLab)

After Peter Gorman took a year-long bike trip across the country he came back home and started making minimalist maps of city intersections. What do his maps of DC’s streets say about the District’s layout? (Gaspard Le Dem / DCist)

Lyft just announced that it is raising its prices on scooters from $0.15 per minute to $0.24 per minute. Two months ago, Jump also raised its prices up to $0.25 per minute from $0.15 per minute. Lyft says that fleet limits and remaining competitive in the market prompted the price hike. (Yasna Khademian / DCist)

Now that 400 mopeds are available by app in DC, WAMU took them for a ride to help you figure out how to safely use them. One piece of advice? Watch for shadows, which can obscure potholes and other obstacles. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)

In the District, many children experiencing homelessness live in hotels and have a hard time getting to school. One group proposed a shuttle bus service from the shelter hotels to the nearest Metro station, similar to what hotels do for tourists. (Theresa Vargas / Post)

Keith C. Ivey put together an analysis of the DC Office of Campaign Finance report for Ward 2 council candidates. The analysis focuses on the number of contributions for each candidate, as opposed to the amount. (Keith C. Ivey / DC Geekery)

The intersection of Wisconsin Avenue at Middleton Lane, where a driver struck two people last week, will get pedestrian crossing signals installed by late 2020. Area residents say they have warned the state about the dangers of the intersection for years. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)

The Sterling, the District’s fifth short-term family housing building, has just opened on Rhode Island Avenue in the Brookland neighborhood in Ward 5. It’s one of the replacements for the DC General Hospital shelter, which closed about a year ago. (Abigail Constantino / WTOP)

Metro Board representative Corbett Price is under scrutiny for his actions during the ethics committee investigation into former board chairman Jack Evans. Price is being criticized for attempting to prevent the disclosure of Evans’ violations. (Rachel Kurzius / DCist)

A fire in a rowhouse on Kennedy Street NW killed one man and injured one boy. The house was an unlicesed rental unit, where 12 people, mostly Ethiopian immigrants, were crowded into very small rooms. (Post)

Richmond, Virginia made changes to its system and boosted bus ridership 17% last year, but some riders say that the readjusted routes are making it harder for to catch their regular bus. Both the successes and the problems Richmond saw are a good lesson for Metro as it works on a Bus Transformation Plan for the region. (Josh Kramer / WCP)

An on-duty police officer in Prince George’s County hit and injured a man with her police car on Indian Head Highway in Accokeek. The officer was already on administrative leave for another crash in DC on July 30. (Post)

A rider on a Revel moped crashed after hitting a pothole near 13th and P Street NW, breaking his collarbone. The for-hire mopeds first rolled out in DC over the weekend and have a top speed of 30 mph. (Rachel Kurzius / DCist)

The city banned scooters in most of the Oceanfront area and on streets with speed limits higher than 25mph. A councilmember says the ban is temporary while the city negotiates with scooter providers to restrict the number and range of the scooters. (Stacy Parker / Virginian-Pilot)

Construction to repair the bridge and add a connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail will start August 29. The Whitney Young will have a reversible center lane for rush hour traffic and the speed limit will drop to 30 mph. One side of the bridge sidewalk will be closed to pedestrians and cyclists. (Max Smith / WTOP)

Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House will close for seven months during construction of a taller security fence. The north sidewalk of the street and Lafayette Square will still be open for cyclists and pedestrians. (Michael Ruane / Post)

Montgomery County arrested someone accused of rape and released him on bond, despite Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) request to hold him in jail. The county does not comply with ICE’s immigration detainer requests by local law. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)